Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

Just wondering how much a holiday actually delays mail; say Labor Day on a Monday. I work in medical records (requesting) and wanted to know if I should allow more than really just one day for the mail to arrive at the intended location.

Asked by Penny over 11 years ago

Penny, I don't think that a holiday delays the transport of mail through our network by much at all, but I don't really have much insight into this subject. I know our local post offices don't process any mail on holidays, however the processing and distribution centers might still be operating. I would always suggest allowing more than one day for mail to arrive at the intended location even if there was no holiday. This is just to make time for mis-delivered, mis-sorted, or delayed mail. The day after a holiday, we are often hammered with mail to deliver. It is the trade off for having a paid day off (which I'm not complaining about).

850 Votes

Hi there,

I just sent out my rent check to my landlord and realized everything was correct except I wrote 362 Box Street rather than 462 Box Street. Will it still be delivered? Or should I cancel the check and resend?

Asked by AmandaB over 11 years ago

Amanda, I can't say for sure what will happen with your rent check that was misaddressed. If the letter carrier delivers both of those addresses on Box St. and is familiar with the names on their route, they may deliver the letter to where it is intended (meaning it will get to your landlord). It's also possible that different letter carriers deliver to those 2 addresses and the letter carrier at 362 Box St. will just deliver it to 362 Box St. or return the check to the sender (you) as "Attempted, Not Known". I would recommend not canceling the check and waiting several days to see if the landlord received the check. Is there a way to contact the landlord and tell them what you did and it's possible they will ask you to resend the check or wait a few days to see if they receive it? I say this also to maybe save you money because putting a stop payment on a check often has a fee associated with it.

850 Votes

Hello-
Just wondering about mailing UPS or FEDEX,and if they still stamp the city name on the envelope before it is sent out like the regular mail is done? In case you wanted to mail someone,but not wanting them to know what city it is coming from?

Asked by DwB44 over 11 years ago

I don't believe that UPS or FEDEX do any type of stamping on their envelopes or parcels like the USPS does when processing the mail. I do know that both companies have very good tracking services for each item so the recipient can tell what facilities the item went through before being delivered to them. When they receive what you sent to them, they can likely go online with the item tracking # and find out how the item traveled from you to them. Thanks for writing.

849 Votes

I just checked my mailbox n received a authorization to hold mail form. I did not request this n is signed by an unknown person. what does this mean & how do I fix it?

Asked by Jay almost 12 years ago

I am not sure why the authorization to hold mail form would show up in your mailbox unless it was put there by error. Normally we wouldn't deliver a signed form like that until it is time to resume delivery of mail after the hold period which was authorized has expired. Postal Customers use that form (or can complete it at www.usps.gov) to have their mail held at the post office if they will be away for a period of time between 3 and 30 days. At the end of the authorized time period, a letter carrier will either deliver all of the mail that was held at the PO or the postal customer can pick up the mail at the Post Office. If the form you recevied has been completed (or even if not), you may put a post-it note or attach a note to it and leave it in your mailbox explaining to the letter carrier that you don't want your mail held at all and that you didn't authorize it. Another option is to take the card to your local post office that delivers the mail and tell them you don't want your mail held. My guess is that somebody has made an error in delivering the form to you OR something shady is going on, but I think it is more likely the former. Thank you for your inquiry.

848 Votes

I received a very important & personal letter. Our mail carrier, whom we have not yet met, left a congratulatory note. That was kind, but she wrote it in red ink directly on the envelope! I was surprised. Does the USPS employee handbook allow that?

Asked by Dalgety over 11 years ago

Another good question on this message board that I dont know the answer to. We rarely ever look at or are directed to a USPS employee handbook. I am sure it exists but don't know where it is at my PO. I am pretty sure my supervisor would have it at their desk or know where to find it. As far as writing a personal note directly on a letter, I would suggest that it not be done, but I can't say that it is against the rules. In general I don't think we should be making any comments or judgments about the mail that somebody receives. I'm not saying we don't talk about it internally but I wouldn't comment (in person or in writing) to the mail recipient or anybody else in public. That would be completely inappropriate. Please notice I don't use the word "illegal" here as I am not versed in the legality or disciplinary actions that are in play here, if any. The only time I would write directly on the mail is if I'm not familiar with the name of the recipient on a piece of mail that differs from the current residents that I know live at a particular address. In this case, I put a "?" next to the addressees name and deliver the letter. By doing this, the current residents can accept the letter or realize I wasn't sure if it was delivered correctly and leave it out for me the next day to return to the sender as "Attempted, Not Known." Thanks for writing.

848 Votes

If I have a mailbox that is posted to the side of my house and does not come with a red flag. How do I let the post man know that I have outgoing mail? It never gets picked up...

Asked by JMac over 11 years ago

I presume there are days when you receive no mail and therefore the letter carrier doesn't even stop at your house and wouldn't see your outgoing mail. If you had incoming mail, please make sure your outgoing mail is visible and then should be taken. On days where you have no incoming mail and no flag to alert the letter carrier that you have outgoing mail, I'm not sure how to let them know to stop and pickup your letters. I suggest making the mail visible from a distance (like possibly sticking out of the mailbox) so when they walk/drive by your house it can be spotted and picked up. To be honest though, some letter carriers may not even look at the mailbox if there is nothing to deliver to a certain address. I'm not saying this is correct, but I don't want to speak for fellow letter carriers who vary widely in their quality of work. Thank you for writing.

848 Votes

How often do mailman empty out the big blue usps boxes they have outside usually in every street in the neighborhood?

Asked by Leora over 11 years ago

Those are known as collection boxes and on the label which is usually inside the pull-down lid or outside the lid is a schedule of the pick-ups from the box. It is usually 1-2 times per day in the office where I work in suburban Long Island, NY. I've rarely seen it be more than that but in busier urban environments it could be more. Our app for iPhone has a "location" option where you can search for Blue Collection Boxes and the last collection time is posted.

847 Votes

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Just wondering how much a holiday actually delays mail; say Labor Day on a Monday. I work in medical records (requesting) and wanted to know if I should allow more than really just one day for the mail to arrive at the intended location.

Hi there,

I just sent out my rent check to my landlord and realized everything was correct except I wrote 362 Box Street rather than 462 Box Street. Will it still be delivered? Or should I cancel the check and resend?

Hello-
Just wondering about mailing UPS or FEDEX,and if they still stamp the city name on the envelope before it is sent out like the regular mail is done? In case you wanted to mail someone,but not wanting them to know what city it is coming from?

I just checked my mailbox n received a authorization to hold mail form. I did not request this n is signed by an unknown person. what does this mean & how do I fix it?

Also on Jobstr...

I received a very important & personal letter. Our mail carrier, whom we have not yet met, left a congratulatory note. That was kind, but she wrote it in red ink directly on the envelope! I was surprised. Does the USPS employee handbook allow that?

If I have a mailbox that is posted to the side of my house and does not come with a red flag. How do I let the post man know that I have outgoing mail? It never gets picked up...

How often do mailman empty out the big blue usps boxes they have outside usually in every street in the neighborhood?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Just wondering how much a holiday actually delays mail; say Labor Day on a Monday. I work in medical records (requesting) and wanted to know if I should allow more than really just one day for the mail to arrive at the intended location.

Hi there, I just sent out my rent check to my landlord and realized everything was correct except I wrote 362 Box Street rather than 462 Box Street. Will it still be delivered? Or should I cancel the check and resend?

Hello-Just wondering about mailing UPS or FEDEX,and if they still stamp the city name on the envelope before it is sent out like the regular mail is done? In case you wanted to mail someone,but not wanting them to know what city it is coming from?

I just checked my mailbox n received a authorization to hold mail form. I did not request this n is signed by an unknown person. what does this mean & how do I fix it?

Also on Jobstr...

I received a very important & personal letter. Our mail carrier, whom we have not yet met, left a congratulatory note. That was kind, but she wrote it in red ink directly on the envelope! I was surprised. Does the USPS employee handbook allow that?

If I have a mailbox that is posted to the side of my house and does not come with a red flag. How do I let the post man know that I have outgoing mail? It never gets picked up...

How often do mailman empty out the big blue usps boxes they have outside usually in every street in the neighborhood?

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Hi there,

I just sent out my rent check to my landlord and realized everything was correct except I wrote 362 Box Street rather than 462 Box Street. Will it still be delivered? Or should I cancel the check and resend?

Hello-
Just wondering about mailing UPS or FEDEX,and if they still stamp the city name on the envelope before it is sent out like the regular mail is done? In case you wanted to mail someone,but not wanting them to know what city it is coming from?